GENE SIMMONS: My Favorite KISS Song Is 'The One That Sells The Most'

July 15, 2006

R.D. Heldenfels of the Akron Beacon Journal reports that KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was still obnoxious, verbally combative and very much the huckster for his various enterprises at a news conference Thursday (July 13) during the TV critics' press tour.

Asked, for example, which KISS song is his favorite, he said, "The one that sells the most is my favorite."

But Simmons for public consumption isn't necessarily Simmons all the time. Evidence of that will begin appearing in August in bookstores, where his longtime love, Shannon Tweed, will have her memoir "Kiss and Tell", and on TV screens, when A&E airs "Gene Simmons Family Jewels".

In the book, Tweed actually uses words such as "sweet" and "humble" to describe her man.

The series is not only about Simmons but also about the Simmons-Tweed family, including Shannon and their children, 17-year-old Nick and 14-year-old Sophie. It shows the current home life as well as footage going back to when Nick and Sophie were young.

Nick — tall, lanky and funny — could emerge as the real star of the show as well as one of the antidotes to Gene's outrageousness. But even in the news conference, Simmons was taking fire from several directions — the kids and Tweed.

When he and Tweed were asked about parenting, Tweed called him "Mr. Absentee Rock Father." And he conceded that most of the parenting was done by Tweed.

Which means, of course, that Daddy is famous for being an overly amorous rocker and Mommy is well-known for being naked. But Tweed and Simmons insist they are regular parents in a lot of ways.

"Our household is actually run pretty straight ahead," said Simmons, who — unlike, oh, Ozzy Osbourne — insists that he has never been high or drunk. "Our responsibility is to protect our kids, supply the money and nurture and love and protect them with our lives. Their job is to do well in school and behave. Period. This notion of parents having to negotiate with their children... is out of the question."

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